We Students – Freshers’ Guide to 2021-2022 Welcome to our community! Studies at Tampere University await you – congratulations on getting in and welcome to the big local university community in Tampere! Through your university studies, you’ll get to the source of all kinds of knowledge and competences to educate yourself and to acquire skills specific to your field. But the everyday life at the university is much more than just studying. You will meet people from all over Finland and the world, you will get to try out new hobbies and make lifelong friendships. So arrive with an open mind in August! This guide has been put together for you in the student union. The purpose is to introduce you to the student life in Tampere, the student union activities and the university services. On the pages of this guide, you can find a lot of useful information about completing studies, housing, health care, free-time activities, associations and student culture. During the first steps of your student life, this guide will hopefully provide you with information to help you navigate the freeways and side alleys of local academic culture. At the beginning of your studies, you will be supported by trained student tutors. They will help you get started with your studies and introduce you to your study environment. In your tutor group, you will meet other students from your field and get introduced to the activities of the subject association of your field. Participate actively in the tutoring, ask and ponder on things out loud and tell your tutor about any concerns you have. The beginning of the term is full of new experiences and information for new students, and it’s our duty to help you steer through it. 2 While I’m writing this, we are living in globally exceptional times, which naturally affects universities and students as well. The pandemic brings uncertainty about the future, so we warmly recommend every student to follow the communications of the authorities, university and student union. You can find information on TREY’s communication channels in this guide. Whatever the situation in August, support for the beginning of your studies is available. But now, let’s just enjoy the summer and relax before our studies start – see you in autumn! ANNINA KIPPONEN Specialist in Tutoring The Student Union of Tampere University – TREY 3 Contents We Students – 2021-2022 1 Welcome to our community! 2 Contents 4 The student life awaits you! 5 Start with this! 7 The student union 8 TREY – What’s that? 8 TREY’s communication channels 15 Student union events 17 University campuses 20 Fresher’s life in Tampere 23 Your tutor helps you in the beginning 23 Tampere is a good place to study 27 Housing 27 How to fund my studies 31 Transportation 33 Student health care services 38 Equality 47 Studying at Tampere University 49 Studies 49 Study services 52 Sports 61 SportUni 61 Students’ sports teams 63 Finnish Student Sports Federation OLL 64 Internationality 66 Associations 69 Advocacy associations 69 Subject associations and guilds 70 Vocational clubs 71 Sports associations 71 Hobby associations 72 International associations and clubs 72 Student Finnish to English – An introduction 73 4 The student life awaits you! Way to go! You have just made it to Tampere University and entered a new chapter in life. It’s completely normal to feel nervous about starting your studies. Did I pick the right field? Will I find new friends? Will I find my place in the university community? These concerns are totally fine! Five years ago, when I was heading to the campus for the first time to start my studies, I was asking myself these very same questions. Fortunately, you have tutors to help you get started with your studies and university life, so you don’t have to be alone with your questions. Once you get past the initial confusion, try your wings and delve into the possibilities of local student life. University studies are an excellent opportunity for you to challenge yourself and explore new terrain! At TREY, we have an endless array of different association activities, from space, investing, and hiking to theatre projects and radio productions. All of us students belong to a subject association or a guild. You will get to know your subject association in the beginning of your studies. To find people with similar interests, I wholeheartedly recommend you to participate in the activities organised by different associations. If you are interested in taking several subjects, the University offers a multitude of different courses. The free choice of minor subject ensures that you can participate in almost any course offered at the University. Dream big and build your own, unique degree! Would you be interested in studying memes, futures research, or environmental education? 5 All this – and more – is on offer at Tampere University, so be sure to take your time when you go through the curriculum! Your time at the University is full of possibilities, so you can paint your own path. Whether you choose to focus on your studies, spend your days and nights at events and parties, or become a seasoned student activist, your way of being a student is just as good as anyone else’s. So keep an open mind this autumn and jump head first into this unique stage in your life, and you will be left with many unforgettable experiences! IIRIS TAUBERT Student of Lifelong Learning and Education Chair of the Student Union 2021 6 Start with this! • Accept your study place by following the instructions given to you by the university. • You might be subject to fees and eligible for scholarships. Check your own situation and act accordingly! • Start sorting out your arrival to Finland. Moving to a different country requires closely following the official procedures, and those procedures vary depending on your home country. See the Student’s Guide for more information on this: tuni.fi/studentsguide. • Apply for a student card. This can be done through trey.fi/en/student-card. It is possible only after you have accepted your study place. • Activate your personal user ID for the university electronic services through salasana.tuni.fi. This can be done only after you have accepted your study place. • Apply for housing! Find out more about housing options on page 27. • Make sure you are covered by health insurance. See more information on the Student’s Guide. • Connect with your student tutor and arrange your arrival to Tampere before Welcome Week starts! 7 In 2021, due to the COVID-19 situation, the arrival processes and other matters might change from the usual practices. Closely follow the instructions sent to you by Tampere University and contact them if you have problems. For example, the processing times for student visas may be longer than usual. This can mean that your arrival to Tampere is delayed significantly. Following the University instructions and general guidelines by the Finnish government and the authorities in your home country is extremely important in the current situation. Stay safe! The student union TREY – What’s that? All students at Finnish universities are organised into student unions. The student union duties are provided by law and their purpose is to represent students, promote their interests and offer them services. The student unions are independent from the universities, but they work in close cooperation with them. The Student Union of Tampere University (TREY) promotes the interests of all 18,000 students in Tampere University. TREY does advocacy work, supports student associations, offers services and builds the community. The Universities Act defines the student union’s duties to liaise with and on behalf of its members and to promote their societal, social and intellectual aspirations and those relating to studies and the status of students in society. TREY carries out its legal duties on all Tampere University campuses. 8 Advocacy TREY has the task to ensure that the students’ voices are heard at the university and elsewhere in society. Advocacy means taking part in all decision-making that impacts students, including the quality of education, income, health care services, housing and equality in the community. International students are considered in all advocacy work, and the internationalisation of Finnish students is supported at the same time. The aim of our work is the all- encompassing well-being of students. In addition to TREY, advocacy work is done by student associations and student representatives. Guilds and subject associations do important work on the degree programme level by furthering the well-being of the students in their field. Student representatives are coordinated by TREY. TREY also works closely with Tamko, the Student’s Union of Tampere University of Applied Sciences, in advocacy matters that concern both Tampere Universities. Services! TREY provides members with many useful member services. You can find details about them on our website trey.fi/en/member-services. TREY’s specialists provide counselling and help for members and associations in all questions relating to studying and student life and other problematic situations. You can contact the specialists confidentially if you have problems with your studies, income or housing, among others. The specialists’ 9 contact information can be found on TREY’s website. The Specialists in Educational Affairs help you with questions regarding your studies and legal protection. If you have any study-related problems, you can contact the Student Union by email at kopo-help@ trey.fi. The Specialists in Social Affairs help you with questions regarding income, housing, well-being and equality. The Specialist in International Affairs answers to questions regarding international studies and internationalisation and supports international students here in the student union.